Memo to the lowlife who stole Bertha Presz’s purse: You messed with the wrong granny.
The 77-year-old Holocaust survivor from Queens has made it her mission to track down the thief who ripped her off while she was shopping at Brach’s Glatt Kosher Meat Market in Kew Gardens Hills.
Not only has Presz gotten the local police precinct to take this case seriously, the grandmother of five has been been handing out flyers in the neighborhood showing photos of the perp.
Presz is also directing everyone to check out a YouTube video that shows the thief taking off with her purse, which contained a cell phone, bank cards and at least $150 in cash. Cops released a still from the video Wednesday.
Presz was checking out eggs at the store on Aug. 3 when a man casually yanked the black pocketbook from her basket, stuffed it under his shirt, and then strolled onto Main St.
“I realized immediately that it was stolen,” Presz recalled.
But detectives at the 107th Precinct initially labeled the incident a “lost property” case and barely investigated, the victim’s relatives said.
“They made us feel like idiots,” said Presz’s daughter, Hindy Laster. “The cop on duty said he understands it’s upsetting but that they were busy dealing with stabbings.”
A police source at the precinct said it’s not that they don’t sympathize with Presz’s plight, they’ve just been very busy.
Among other things, they are still looking for the shooter who wounded a decorated police sergeant in both legs on Aug. 8 during a gunfight in a Queens alleyway.
“A lot of times people think their cases are the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, but we have other victims,” the source added.
Frustrated, Presz’s family turned to community activist Jack Wiesel, who began pressing local pols and police brass to take the case more seriously.
“The police should at least pretend that they are trying to take care of it,” Laster said.
Nearly two weeks after the theft, detectives learned the store had a surveillance video and obtained a copy. An NYPD spokeswoman said there’s an “active investigation” and police are looking for the suspect.
The suspect is a white man with a short haircut and a receding hairline. He’s about 40 years old, 5-feet-9 and was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and blue shorts. Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
The brave granny is one of a growing number of theft victims in the area, records show.
Police have investigated 268 grand larcenies through Sunday, a spike of about 5.5% over the same time period last year, according to NYPD data.
By Reuven Blau / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
No comments:
Post a Comment